grading dirty coins

Hello all, i'm having a little difficulty grading dirty coins (no probs with clean ones) so i have uploaded pics of 1926 french 1 franc if anyone can help or advise thanks.

whats dirty about that coin???

It's all about the scratches and details, not about dirt, so i rate it XF.

ture but still a a nice coin

kommodore is right, the presence of dirt or tarnish would not generally affect the grade of a coin. It is about circulation wear and detail, or the loss of it, and can be quite difficult to establish an exact grade since two separate people may have differing opinions. I think yours is a beautiful coin but with some slight loss of detail to the higher points of the seated figure, in my opinion it would grade a good VF.

Yeah, I'm looking at this coin, and it doesn't show dirt.

I think the seated figure is a little too worn to be EF, although most details look sharp. I'd grade VF+

It's almost 100 years old, be more generous.

Just cause a coin's old, doesn't mean an okay quality is good!

Maybe if I held it in my hand I could give it an EF. But think about it. You have a 1600's coin for example. It's well worn out that it's in G or VG. The condition is what it is. It would be unfair in this case for the UNC coin that is the same issue.

Quote: SmartOneKgJust cause a coin's old, doesn't mean an okay quality is good!

Maybe if I held it in my hand I could give it an EF. But think about it. You have a 1600's coin for example. It's well worn out that it's in G or VG. The condition is what it is. It would be unfair in this case for the UNC coin that is the same issue.

 I have always wondered why old coins can get a "higher" grade when they are so worn? just because they are old is no reason to change your grading scale. I would agree with Smart One, the grading scale is the same for all coins, if not it would get really complicated and messy.

I don't think that old coins should receive high grading due to age, but one must know that older coin pressing technology didn't always produce as clean a coin as we see today. A person has to take into account the beginning product.